“Rebuild” is a word that has been beat to death, reanimated, and beat to death again by the Philadelphia Flyers over the last decade. After Ron Hextall relied upon it for years, Danny Briere’s regime has unburied it, dusted it off, and picked right back up on the soapbox where Hextall left off. Though, after his second season at the helm of the Flyers, and no clearer a direction today than there was before his coronation, it’s fair to ask what exactly does the organization believe a rebuild is?
When John Tortorella took over the head coaching duties he was quick to use the word “rebuild” during the dying days of the Chuck Fletcher era when his train was far off the tracks. It was a pleasant surprise that he, of all people, was signaling for a rebuild. But when the 2023 offseason came and went, it appeared that Tortorella’s definition of the word “rebuild” wasn’t quite textbook. It seems he meant culturally. Things like shedding problem children Ivan Provorov and Kevin Hayes and adding veteran glue like Garnet Hathaway and Marc Staal.
Tortorella clearly didn’t mean an influx of young, talented roster players, like assumed when talking about a rebuild. After two seasons behind the bench, his track record for incorporating rookies has been poor at best and a complete disaster at worst.
But hey, having a hard-nosed coach come in and cut out the cancer in an attempt to gain control of a rogue lockerroom isn’t a bad thing. Sitting there like Commodus and deciding the fate of individual players in an attempt to readjust the culture behind closed doors can be an overall decent strategy, and one that clearly worked to some extent, but it’s by no means an action that can be identified as a “rebuild.”
Then Danny Briere is named GM and he, alongside Keith Jones, were quick to build their regime around the word “rebuild” which bred even more hope that the Flyers were going to be on the right path.
Yet, after nearly two years since Tortorella first uttered the word and over a year since Briere followed suit, there’s still a stunning lack of a noticeable rebuilding plan in place, and it makes us wonder what the organization even meant when they used the word “rebuild” in the first place?
The brigade of front office former Flyers seemed hellbent on making it about bringing back the past. Which isn’t necessarily a bad or wrong idea by itself. During the Dave Scott and Val Camillo leadership regime, there were plenty of changes in an attempt to progress the organization forward. But the bump into the 21st century of sports marketing was rejected by the fans, and after the on-ice product failed miserably, the whole thing came crashing down.
When you’ve got a rich history like the Philadelphia Flyers, there’s no need to deviate from their roots. The Briere regime attempting to bring back the environment that was around in the organization’s heyday during the Lindros-era (and earlier, for the boomers out there) led by friendly fan-favorite faces is a fine game plan with serious benefits to reap if successful.
But just like Dave Scott before, if the on-ice product doesn’t improve the gimmicks and hoopla can only carry them so far. There hasn’t been much roster overhaul from the Flyers. In fact, there’s virtually zero change from 2023-24 to 2024-25. It’s been justified by both the fans and front office after the product was marginally improved last season mixed with a more plentiful offseason promised in 2025 and the addition of Matvei Michkov. They bought themselves some time, but the future is still plenty blurry when it comes to a way out of the current funk they’re stuck in.
It’s why some folks that haven’t been indulging in the kool-aid as much as others can already see the eerie comparisons to the Ron Hextall era. Saying one thing but doing another hasn’t worked out well for either of the past two front office regimes, and while Briere still has some good grace before the pitchforks and armed and torches are lit, the warning signs of disaster are already there.
If we could ask Danny Briere and Keith Jones one question it’d be “word-for-word how would you define a rebuild and how do you plan on seeing through those goals?” It’s an overarching question that would shed some light on to their thought process and potentially get everyone on the same boat. But that’s also the exact reason why you’ll never hear that question asked to them by the media- because it would highlight just how potentially far off the rails their words are from their actions.
The perceived definition of of Briere’s rebuild is apparently their way to keep one foot in and one foot out. If they somehow excel, then the “rebuild” is a success despite not actually rebuilding. If the team struggles, hey, they’re rebuilding, what did you expect? The perfect crutch to remain mediocre and hands-off to the product (just like Hextall) rather than proactively building towards an end goal.
Marketing a “rebuild” that isn’t actually a rebuild is the exact thing that will do them in one day if they don’t manage to catch lightning in a bottle or actively save themselves by making blockbuster moves. But after the 2024 offseason, maybe the train has already left the station when it comes to rebuilding properly. Hence why they shouldn’t be using the word in the first place.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the organization wanting to bring back the good ol’ days. But they forgot what made the team so great back then was star power, not corporate catchphrases and low-ceiling players pretending to be Broad Street Bullies. There’s still time for this regime to save themselves, but they’re quickly backing themselves into a corner that may be too difficult to get out of if they don’t put the effort in to do so.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
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